Residents of California and Hawaii are the most indebted individuals in America, but they’re also among a group that are making the most progress in paying down the amount they owe, according to a MoneyWatch analysis of state-by-state debt statistics....

this week ... Bt eggplant trials in the Philippines, GM wheat and potato test fields in Germany; and the recent Greenpeace "media event" destroying the GM wheat trial in Australia.  Not even the U.S is immune, as someone has destroyed thousands of GM papaya trees in Hawaii.

The time has come for parents to think about their children’s future plans and decide if the university system is a viable option.

 Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issued an interim decision in Hawaiian Electric's 2011 rate case. It will result in a $3.31 a month increase for a typical Oahu residential customer

National Right to Life has released candidate comparisons on life issues for the 2012 Presidential Primary races.

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act, Obamacare is just over one year old, it has been more than 800 days since the Democrat-controlled Senate passed a budget, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened its doors on Thursday--the first new federal agency in nearly a decade. You'll notice that no one is celebrating any of them.

We are still suffering from the bursting of the housing bubble created by low interest rates, lowered mortgage standards and subsidies to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now some people see signs that another bubble is bursting -- the higher education bubble.

On March 5, 2007--just four months after her 2006 Lt Governor run gave Hawaii Democrats their worst gubernatorial defeat since Statehood—Solomon led about 100 people to sit in at the the Federal District Courtroom of Judge Michael Seabright to support her friend, Shawn Aguiar—the Big Island's largest methamphetamines dealer.

The new draft reverses agency protection recommendations for many bird species and adds unrealistic deadlines that would lead to “rubber-stamping” of wind projects. ABC expects millions of migratory birds to be harmed by poorly-planned wind energy.

The initiative’s first site is located in Honoka'a, within the Hamakua Coast, where services will be provided at the North Hawai'i Education & Research Center (NHERC). The Rural Outreach Services initiative is a partnership between federal, state, county governments, and private non-profit agencies.

 a CNN poll completed yesterday showed 66% of Americans support the Cut, Cap and Balance plan to “raise the debt ceiling only if a balanced budget amendment were passed by both houses of Congress and substantial spending cuts and caps on future spending were approved.”

On one side are those who have come to realize it would be madness to let the political class borrow more without imposing a serious check on government spending. They have produced budgets and now an actual legislative plan to get things under control.

On the other, you find those who consider more spending, taxing, and borrowing a royal prerogative. They have produced nothing but rhetoric and empty promises and have pushed this debate to the brink.

A Sound Balanced Budget Amendment Must Require Two-Thirds Majorities to Raise Federal Taxes.... 

Eric Ryan wants to save Honolulu from the waste, fraud and corruption that he seems to find wherever he goes. Eric see’s himself as some sort of crusader fighting a lonely battle to expose the rampant misuse of power that only he is capable of seeing.

Almost everyone else see’s Eric as a garden-variety malcontent, angry about being fired and hell-bent on retaliation. 

“The Mayor is facing a turning point in his term, either he can direct resources to resolve flooding, drainage, water, sewer, and road repairs and embark upon upgrades to various treatment plants and recycling efforts, or continue to divert taxpayers’ money to fund a heavy-rail system riddled with graft on all fronts."

...Abercrombie last week alerted the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services that the State of Hawai'i will be applying for the new ”Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge” grant competition....

All of the clever rhetoric and recasting of history is designed to distract from the reality on the ground. The U.S. government has racked up $14 trillion in debt. For more than 800 days, the U.S. Senate has failed to pass a budget. President Obama continues his calls for "compromise" and "shared sacrifice," all while insisting on tax increases to fund spending.... 

Today, join us in making history when the first, all-Twitter Presidential Debate is held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. (9AM-10:30AM HST)

The guy keeps making speeches about redistribution and maybe we ought to do something to businesses that don't invest, their holding too much money. We haven't heard that kind of talk except from pure socialists. Everybody's afraid of the government and there's no need soft peddling it, it's the truth. It is the truth. And that's true of Democratic businessman and Republican businessman....

Today, the U.S. House is set to vote on a Republican-sponsored plan known as "Cut, Cap, and Balance" that "would cut spending by $5.8 trillion over 10 years, cap future spending and require Congress to approve a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget before raising the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion," as The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Researchers at the Beacon Hill Institute have conducted a cost-benefit analysis of 1,100 MWs of offshore wind power for New Jersey. The findings are as follows.

• TUESDAY 4:43AM HST
• WEDNESDAY 5:19AM HST

EIRs are required for plastic bag bans by (i) “larger” cities and counties and also (ii) small cities based on the cumulative impacts. Save The Plastic Bag Coalition has legal standing to enforce that requirement.... 

On July 14, 2011, we filed a cert petition, which asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision in County of Hawaii v. C&J Coupe Family Ltd. P'ship....

 Recent Congressional Votes

• House: Better Use of Light Bulbs Act
• House: Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011
  • House: Energy-Water Appropriations, FY2012

As Congress struggles to find a way to cut spending as part of raising the $14 trillion debt ceiling, they should take a close look at the more than $1 trillion spent every year on welfare....

A new unprecedented statewide research survey on child abuse and neglect in Hawai‘i reveals that child abuse is a pervasive and serious issue. Nearly 40% of residents know a victim of child abuse, 9% say they experienced abuse themselves, and 80% of residents think child abuse is a major problem in society. 

Convicted cocaine dealer Chad Tsuneyoshi is taking over as Honolulu Council Chair Ernie Martin’s Campaign Treasurer.

...in Hawaii the tax incentives and the executive order to blend all fuel merely increased the cost for the highway user and shifted the export of consumer dollars from the oil fields of the Middle East and Indonesia to the sugar fields of Brazil. And because of the lost tax revenues, taxpayers had to forego tax relief....

...it was a pleasant surprise to see the leading radio news organization, Radio States KHJ-FM raise questions about some of the campaign money he has raised, based on our report, even if the story was centered on Faleomavaega's condemnation of us for our report....

Do the math. Sai and Gumapac have 300 “customers”. Perfect Title had 400 victims. The Maui-based Ventura-Oliver sovereignty mortgage scammers now on trial had about 300 alleged victims. That is 1000 native Hawaiian households who have allegedly fallen victim to these three alleged scams. ...amounting to 2.3% of all native Hawaiian home-owning households.

“Mazie Hirono and Ed Case batter each other in a contested Democratic primary, then the survivor meets and loses to Lingle in the general election."

Using results in legislative districts from the past three presidential elections, the two most recent gubernatorial elections and the last legislative election, he predicts margins of victory for Democratic or Republican candidates based on the districts’ political preferences.

(See complete Index for Hawaii House and Senate)

...the PUC determined that Castle & Cooke cannot assign part of its development rights to Pattern Energy to develop 200 MW of wind power on Molokai....

School Year 2010-11 AYP Results and Corresponding School Year 2011-12 Accountability Status by Complex

Borreca's column today is an interesting one but we do quibble with his following conclusion:  "... the anti-rail contingent has yet to show its own alternative traffic solution. Honolulu's real traffic jam is the city's inability to move a plan that has overwhelming public support."

Now that the Public Utilities Commission has ordered Hawaiian Electric (HECO) to stop this mega-project and restart it with new bidders, I Aloha Molokai (IAM) requests that Pattern Energy and its subcontractors and partners cease their activities on Molokai immediately.

This bill would authorize the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to compensate residents of Guam and their descendants who were injured or killed in World War II.

Despite the fact that the state has the fourth highest median household income in the country, Hawaii actually had a larger portion of its Medicaid bill covered by the federal government than poorer states like Illinois, Virginia and Nevada. Compared to most wealthy “blue” states, the group of islands spends very little on Medicaid. 

Washington remains embroiled in debt limit negotiations as Republicans and Democrats stand apart on how to best go about increasing the amount of money the government can borrow and spend. But on the sidelines, another debate simmers over one amendment to the U.S. Constitution that could have averted today's spending debacle: the balanced budget amendment (BBA).

July 19th PUBLIC HEARING at the DHHL Hawaii Pono'i Bldg. That's Tuesday July 19, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. 91-5420 Kapolei Parkway, Kapolei, Hawaii.

Hanalani School is a robotic force to be reckoned with. After three days of intense international competition, the Miliani students were named tournament champions for the second year in a row ....

Almost all discussions about Medicare reform ignore one key factor: Medicare utilization is roughly 50 percent higher than private health insurance utilization, even after adjusting for age and medical conditions....

For those with short memories, Fannie, Freddie, and government policies aimed at making it easier for people to purchase homes is how the housing market wound up in its current state.

The White House on Wednesday declined to challenge an account in a new book that suggests that President Obama, in his campaign to overhaul American health care, mischaracterized a central anecdote about his mother’s deathbed dispute with her insurance company.

Governor Neil Abercrombie approved the hiring of 10 agricultural inspectors, restoring some positions that were eliminated in 2009.

...there has actually been an increase in emergency room use by people with incomes below 300% of the poverty level....

The Divorce Law in Hawaii program will be held on Thursday, July 14, from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Hawaii Supreme Court courtroom on the second floor of Aliiolani Hale at 417 South King Street. The program is free and open to the public.